A group of veterans who experienced Military Sexual Trauma
issued a joint statement regarding current public discourse
surrounding I Am Vanessa Guillen Act and cite its damaging to their
pursuit for restorative justice
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2022
/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Military Sexual Trauma Movement, Inc. is
a grassroots human rights organization that was founded by Military
Sexual Trauma (MST) veteran, Jánelle Marina Méndez in 2018 in
Dutchess County, New York.
According to Human Rights Watch, 90% of Latin and Caribbean
American female Marines experience both rape and retaliation. This
is the most severe racial and sex discrimination deviation of any
minority group across all U.S. Military branches. This
intersectional discrimination is unique to veterans like Jánelle
Marina who have overlapping minority identities.
Jánelle Marina Méndez said, "I founded the Military Sexual
Trauma Movement in 2018, 2 years before Vanessa Guillen died. I am responsible for
turning MST into a national movement and I raised the issue in the
public eye. I even authored, lobbied, and enacted the Restoration
of Honor Act of 2019. I am the human responsible for creating the
legal definition of MST in U.S. Law and creating a legally
recognizable class of veterans not known in the legal system. At
ages 16, 17, and 18, I experienced child-sexual slavery while
serving on active duty in the United
States Marine Corps. The I Am Vanessa Guillen Act left out
critical protections for some of the most vulnerable classes of
veterans such as those that are transgender. It's disappointing the
media and politicians aren't listening to the voices of survivors
of MST like myself."
A group of veterans who have experienced MST have issued the
following statement in support of Jánelle, "As veterans who have
experienced MST, we organized and developed our own grassroots
movement to advocate for ourselves. Our issues surrounding MST are
complex. We have an abundance of healthcare, education, housing
benefits and legal obstacles to endure over our lifetimes that we
need addressed on a legislative scale. We have the highest rates of
suicide, homelessness, infertility, miscarriage and pregnancy
complications, and substance abuse of any other class of veteran.
Our issues are remaining ignored due to current public discourse
surrounding our community. As MST veterans who have to live with
these legal and healthcare issues for the rest of our lives, it is
our voices that must be at the center of public discourse related
to Military Sexual Trauma and our experiences. We are asking the
media and public to center their news regarding MST around our
lived experiences so that we can adequately attain restorative
justice. With the release of Netflix's Vanessa Guillen documentary, we feel compelled
to raise our voices."
Media Contact
Corey Cashmon, Military Sexual
Trauma Movement, Inc., 1 9147037344, Support@BoricuaGringa.com
SOURCE Military Sexual Trauma Movement, Inc.